AMERICAN STUDIES QUARTERLY Fall 2001Vol. 15, No. 3 Articles Political and Security Structures of East AsiaNi Feng(7) The paper tries to explain the political and security structures of East Asia at the turn of the century from a macro angle. As a result of studying internation al relations in East Asia after the Cold War, the author summarizes various phen omena in political and security field in three models, which are multipolarity, hegemony stability and multilateralism. He thinks that the three models constitu te structural factors of the political and security environment in the region. I n view of the cognition, the author sets up a framework to analyse the political and security situation in East Asia. Beyond National Interests: Searching for a Perpetual Explanation for ChinaU.S. Relationship in the 1990sWang Dong (27) Over the past decade, Americans and Chinese have witnessed numerous peaks and valleys in SinoU.S. relations. The question that has puzzled many ob s ervers of this relationship is: Can SinoU.S. relations be explained by a serie s of discrete, systemic variables? Or, is the relationship a random outcome of in determinate forces? This paper, as an effort to go beyond the realpolitik view a nd “national interests” approach, tries to provide a perceptual dimension of u nderstanding the bilateral relationship. Hypotheses drawn from sociopsychologi c al theories are tested through a detailed case study of SinoU.S. strategic int e ractions during the 19951996 Taiwan Missile Crisis. The study identifies sever a l possible sources of misperceptions that contributed to the escalation of the c risis. At the end of the article, the author proposes a framework for explaining relations between nations. By paying attention to the role of perceptions as th ey work within a system of other domestic political variables, this new framewor k helps to achieve some new understanding of the SinoU.S. relationship during the 1990s. Labor, Domestic Politics and PostCold War U.S. Foreign Trade PolicyLi Xiaogang (47) With the influence of domestic factors on U.S. foreign policy increased since the end of the Cold War, economic and trade issues are playing a more impo rtant role. In order to resist trade liberalization through domestic political p rocess, trade unions put pressures on U.S. Congress, especially on Democratic co ngressmen, by means of lobbying, political contribution, and ballots. Therefore, labor has actually participated in the shaping of U.S. trade policy. NAFTA,fast track authority and PNTR are typical cases. Trade unions’ struggles reflect th e rejuvenation of American labor movement, but the disagreements in unions and t he overwhelming influences of the business would limit labor’s further impacts on foreign trade policy. Presidential Lobbying and Congress DecisionmakingYuan Zheng (62) The author points out that the President of the United States has gradually turn ed to be the most influential lobbyist in the Congress. Affecting the interactiv e relations between the Administration and the Congress directly, his lobbies ha ve become one of the major factors impacting on Congressional legislation and de cisionmaking. After describing the President’s various ways of lobbying the C o ngress, the author probes into the complicated factors influencing the results o f presidential lobbying and concludes that the President’s capability and achievement in lobbying shows his degree of leadership. ChurchState Relations in the United StatesLiu Peng (83) The churchstate relationship is an important part of American political cultur e , involving a series of important issues in religion, politics, law and so forth . The principles of the separation of church from state and of the freedom of re ligion established in the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution are the laws for handling the churchstate relationship. The points at issue in the relation s are religious expression at public places, religious activities in public schoo ls, the conflicts of religious belief with legal provisions and social ethics, e tc. One of the new issues confronting churchstate relations is how to deal wit h the upsurge and growth of the rising religious movement. The solution of issues in churchstate relations depends mainly on legal measures and how to make use of the existing laws or establish new laws has become the focus of competition. The handling of churchstate relations in the United States embodies the value o f American society, reflects the characteristics of both union and opposition, a nd coordination and mutual restriction in the relationship between the legal sys tem and morality, and between secularity and religion. The U.S.Canada Conflict Evoked by the HelmsBurton ActChen Gang(101) With its intended goal of tightening the U.S. embargo against Cuba and speeding the ouster of Fidel Castro, the HelmsBurton (LIBERTAD) Act attempts to apply U . S. law exterritorialy. The U.S. unilateral punishment and sanctions against fore ign traders in property confisticated by the Cuban government first met with int ense opposition from its close neighbor Canada, which often follows the United S tates in international affairs. Disputes and Conflicts between the two countries on the HelmsBurton Act reflect some focuses of international relations in the postCold War era. The conflicts thus aroused cover various fields including di p lomacy, economy, law, politics and culture. The international dispute evoked onc e became a central issue of the international society in the postCold War era. Although the wrangles have been basically settled, those new theoretical and pra ctical issues reflected still exist in the present international community, and will continue to influence the transition of the world order and behavior of ind ividual actors. On the Southern Homestead ActMeng Haiquan(117) Applying to the Southern public lands, the American Southern Homestead Act was i ssued in 1866. It was the result of a series of political, economic and military struggles. There existed lots of obstacles in the process of enforcement of the Act, and it failed in the end. The reasons for the failure were not only numero us specific difficulties. The root cause was that it lacked a solid economic bas e: In the social environment of capitalism, especially in the rising capitalist stage, it was unrealistic to carry out the Homested Act in the South by confisca ting private lands. Its implementation in smallscope inferior lands only was d oomed to failure. Reviews The Four Trends in the Development of American Cities in the 1990s:Comments on The State of the Cities, 2000Wang Xu(127) A Dialogue between Pragmatism and Confucianism: Comments on The Democracy of the Dead: Dewey, Confucius and the Hope for Democracy in China by David L. Hall and Roger T. AmesSun Youzhong(133) Aiming at History: Comments on Two books about Nixon Kissinger Diplomacy (William Bundy, A Tangled Web: The Making of Foreign Policy in the Nixon Presidency and William Burr ed., Kissinger Transcripts: The Secret Top Talks with Beijing and Moscow)Gong Honglie (144) New Books(153,154) Editors Note (160)